Open world survival game Soulmask sets Early Access date on Steam

The survival crafting game boasts the 'most intelligent NPCs' in a sandbox title

CampFire Studio/Qooland Games

Soulmask, the upcoming survival crafting game from CampFire Studio, just got an Early Access release date on Steam. The open-world game, which saw over 40,000 players join its public beta on its first day, will be released on June 18 on Steam. The game's open beta has also been extended to May 15, 2024.

Publisher Qooland has also released a free trial for the game so players can get a taste of its tribal management systems ahead of launch. Those who participated in the game's beta will also get an exclusive reward - a New Chieftain mask skin. According to Qooland, the game has already seen over 300,00 wishlists and was featured in the top 10 list in the Steam Next Fest earlier this year.

Soulmask offers more than 500 hours of gameplay with seven maps to explore, though whether the developer has the chops to support it post-launch to sustain its player base remains to be seen. It features a mask system, which gives players special abilities depending on which ones are equipped. Its settlement system is bolstered by NPCs that CampFire Studio is extremely proud of, calling it "maybe the most intelligent NPCs in any survival game."

Now that's a tall order, but the developer is confident its tribal management system, consisting of NPCs created with 265 attributes, will keep players engaged even when they're playing solo. When you're not crafting survival tools, you'll be busy exploring its massive open world which, according to CampFire, is over 64 square km (24 square miles) wide.

CampFire Studio/Qooland Games

The survival crafting genre is big on Steam, with games like Palworld and Enshrouded breaking records for player engagement on the platform. Granted, the former was coasting on the idea of mixing Pokémon with guns, but if this year's Steam blockbusters have proven anything, it's that a viral hit can come from anywhere.

Soulmask will be released in Early Access on Steam on June 18, 2024.